Leninsky district court of Minsk charged Baranov over violation of public order on March 23. On that day around a hundred people showed up at the Independence square in order to engage in the solemn rally commemorating another anniversary since the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic. Over a hundred protesters got captured by police.

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Only one participant of the picket in Gennady Karpenko’s memory was reprimanded by court, while all others received fines. Judge of the Zheleznodorozhny district court of Vitebsk Svetlana Tufan found four picketers guilty of violating the law on street manifestations, charging the head of the Vitebsk affiliate of Gennady Karpenko’s public foundation Sergei Vasenok over organizing opposition rally. The defendants are still pending trial.

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The ruling of the Smorgon district court de facto makes impossible publication of the independent newspaper “Novaya Gazeta Smargoni”. BelaPAN was told by the newspaper’s publisher Nikolai Slizh, that on April 25 the court found the publisher “Kolos farm” guilty under article 154 of the Administrative code for “violation of entrepreneurial activities’ rules”.

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Grodno regional public association “Ratusha” is on the edge of shutdown. On April 24 “Ratusha” received a summons from the Grodno regional economic court in which the organization’s representatives are told to give clarifications concerning the lawsuit on the organization’s liquidation, instituted by the department of justice of the regional executive committee. The lawsuit was forwarded to court on April 21. The reason for it were two reprimands, received by “Ratusha” in course of a year.

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On April 25 the Belarusian independent trade union’s branch at “Grodno Azot” Co received a negative response to their plea to hold on May 1 a rally, dedicated to the Labor Day. “In order to ensure public order the Minsk city hall doesn’t sanction the actions, which coincide in location and time with the official events,” – reads the letter of the city hall, signed by deputy chairman Valentin Leonov.

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The newly appointed Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Martynov called the forthcoming visit of the Iranian president Hatami to Minsk “a turning point in strengthening and extending bilateral relations between the two states”.

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Former rector of the Gomel medical institute, famous expert in medical radiology and pathology, professor Yuri Bandazhevsky is serving his third year in the Minsk hard labor colony.

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“Farewell to Arms!” – this time the idea belongs not to Hemingway but rather to Alexander Lukashenko, who signed an order under which all deputies and high-ranking officials are obliged to give up the weapons, which they bought in early 90ies.

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On April 26, 17 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe, around 3,000 Minskers marched along the city streets in a traditional annual procession. This year Chernobyl Shlyach was prepared by the coalition’s organizing committee, represented by the BPF party, UCP, BSDP (NG) and some other political and public organizations. They elected academician, BPF member Ivan Nikitchenko as the head of the action’s organizing committee.

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Every fifth Belarusian pensioner continues his or her work. According to the Ministry of labor and social protection, the employed pensioners constitute 19,1% of the general population.

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Youth employment problems are directly linked with the redundancies, rocking the state enterprises, said the head of the social development bureau of the Department for youth affairs of the Ministry of education of Belarus Elena Gruzd. She underscored that every year youth employment is diminishing.

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